Zurich is the operational centre of Swiss private banking. UBS Global Wealth Management, Julius Baer, Vontobel and EFG International are headquartered in the city; Pictet and Lombard Odier, headquartered in Geneva, maintain substantial Zurich operations. Switzerland as a whole manages roughly a quarter of global cross-border private wealth, and Zurich accounts for the larger share of the domestic industry.
The Swiss proposition has changed since the end of banking secrecy for foreign clients in the 2010s. What remains is institutional stability, a currency and legal system with a long record, booking-centre depth that allows complex multi-jurisdictional relationships to be held in one place, and relationship managers who often serve the same families across decades.
The banks are supervised by FINMA. Switzerland participates in the Common Reporting Standard. Minimums at the institutions listed here start in the low millions of Swiss francs and rise substantially for the family office and ultra-high-net-worth desks.
What to Look For in a Zurich Private Banking Professional
- Whether the relationship is booked in Switzerland or in another centre the bank operates
- Lombard lending terms and appetite for lending against illiquid assets
- Family office services: consolidated reporting, custody of external mandates, succession support
- Stability of relationship management, which the better houses measure in decades